Decree 309/2026/ND-CP Amends the One-Stop-Shop Mechanism for Administrative Procedures
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Based on:309/2026/ND-CP - Government Official Gazette
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On August 5, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 309/2026/ND-CP, amending several articles of Decree No. 118/2025/ND-CP (as amended by Decree No. 367/2025/ND-CP) on implementing administrative procedures under the one-stop-shop and inter-agency one-stop mechanism at One-Stop Departments and the National Public Service Portal. The decree took effect immediately on the date of signing, August 5, 2026. Substantively, the decree adds the concept of a 'smart kiosk' - a self-service terminal connected to the National Public Service Portal that lets organizations and individuals look up information, submit applications, authenticate their identity via the VNeID app or an ID-card reader, pay fees online, and receive results without needing in-person staff assistance. Receiving agencies are now required to reuse data already held in national databases instead of asking businesses and citizens to resubmit documents they have already provided, except where a technical failure or inaccurate data makes that impossible. The decree also allows provincial- and commune-level Public Administrative Service Centers to accept certain procedures regardless of administrative boundaries nationwide, provided the procedure meets digitization and electronic authentication requirements. The Ministry of Public Security is tasked with applying artificial intelligence on the National Public Service Portal to support automated guidance, file classification and completeness checks, and backlog alerts - with the explicit caveat that AI only assists and does not replace the decision of the authorized official. This is a technical decree that reorganizes the operating machinery of public administrative services (staffing, kiosks, inter-agency data sharing) rather than amending substantive tax, labor, customs, e-invoice, or business-registration rules. Businesses may benefit indirectly from reduced document resubmission and faster processing when filing at a Public Administrative Service Center, but the decree creates no new compliance obligation for business owners or accountants.
Overview
Decree No. 309/2026/ND-CP, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra on August 5, 2026, amends 16 articles of Decree No. 118/2025/ND-CP dated June 9, 2025 on implementing administrative procedures under the one-stop-shop and inter-agency one-stop mechanism at One-Stop Departments and the National Public Service Portal (as previously amended by Decree No. 367/2025/ND-CP). The decree took effect immediately on its signing date.
Key Amendments
New concept: the 'smart kiosk'
The decree redefines the National Public Service Portal and adds the concept of a 'smart kiosk' - a dedicated self-service terminal connected to the National Public Service Portal that lets organizations and individuals look up information, submit applications, authenticate their identity through the VNeID app or an ID-card reader, pay fees online, and automatically receive results. Smart kiosks are encouraged at Reception and Result-Return Departments and Public Administrative Service Centers, with room to expand to cultural houses, post offices, and other public spaces.
No re-submission of data already on file
Receiving and processing agencies must use data already available in national databases in place of application components, and may not require organizations or individuals to resubmit documents whose information has already been published and shared through official database connections. Agencies may only request supplementary documents when a technical failure, disaster, or inaccurate data prevents them from retrieving the information.
Structuring the One-Stop Department and Public Administrative Service Centers
For central agencies organized along a vertical (sectoral) structure at the local level, the head of the agency now decides whether to set up its own Reception and Result-Return Department or instead assign staff to the provincial/commune-level Public Administrative Service Center. Cities are given more flexibility: based on population-management characteristics and digital infrastructure, a city's People's Committee may propose to its People's Council the establishment of a single-tier Public Administrative Service Center (a centralized model) instead of the standard tiered model. The decree also clarifies staffing at commune-level Centers (a Director plus up to two Deputy Directors) and the mechanism for reassigning or replacing staff as caseloads fluctuate.
Filing regardless of administrative boundaries
Provincial- and commune-level Public Administrative Service Centers may now accept certain administrative procedures nationwide without regard to administrative boundaries, provided the procedure meets requirements on file digitization, electronic authentication, and inter-agency data sharing under a list published by the competent authority. Processing time is counted from when the actually-competent agency receives the file, not from the moment it was filed at the receiving counter.
Artificial intelligence on the National Public Service Portal
The Ministry of Public Security (which now manages the Portal after its migration from the Government Office to the National Data Center) is tasked with applying artificial intelligence to provide automated guidance and Q&A, classify and check the completeness of files, flag anomalies and backlogs, and compile reports and statistics. The decree explicitly states that AI is only a support tool and does not replace the review and decision-making authority of the competent agency or official.
Responsibilities of ministries
The Ministry of Justice gains added responsibility for evaluating the quality of public service delivered to citizens and businesses by ministries, sectors, and localities, and for setting the standards that determine which procedures qualify for boundary-independent processing. The Ministry of Public Security sets rules for data connection and sharing between the Portal and administrative-procedure information systems, and leads the restructuring of processes and the rollout of an interactive electronic-form platform.
Effective Date and Transition
The decree took effect on August 5, 2026. Files previously received on the National Public Service Portal operated by the Government Office will be migrated to the new Portal hosted at the National Data Center built by the Ministry of Public Security, for continued processing. The decree repeals Clause 4 of Article 10, Clause 6 of Article 36, and Clause 3 of Article 40 of Decree No. 118/2025/ND-CP.
The decree does not amend any substantive rule on tax, labor, customs, e-invoicing, accounting standards, or business-registration conditions - it is purely an organizational and operational reform of the machinery that delivers public administrative services.